Our 51st through 55th new buses this year are some of the most
technologically advanced hybrid buses out there. I joined in a great
event at PCC Cascades Campus with Campus President Gatewood, Multnomah
County Commissioner Loretta Smith, and Carmen Rubio of the Latino
Network to launch the new buses into service.(I bet those people ride the buses all the time, NOT)

Where you make obscene salaries no matter how screwed up your organization is and get ridiculous severance when you totally fail.

Eyewitness News obtained a copy of the separation agreement which state
publicly funded RIPTA will pay Odimgbe $130,000 in severance pay. He
will also be able to cash in on unused sick and vacation time. REcords
show Odimgbe will be cut a check for an additional $15,558 for 25 sick
and vacation days

Meanwhile back at PORK HEADQUARTERS they are hiring six figure executives like there is no tomorrow, moving into new plush offices with brand new furniture , and building a $1.5 billion dollar train to a town of 20,000. And they wonder why I don't have much nice to say about Trimet these days?
(I bet ya Fred Hansen's pension has not gone down)Did I mention that not only is my pension disappearing but I have to meet large deductibles on my 'golden' health care policy. The scamming liars are killing their retirees

The TriMet bus operators and mechanics have serious concerns about TriMet’s new buses, says Bruce Hansen, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Division 757. He states that a prior model of the same Gillig brand of bus has the highest incidence of left-turn pedestrian accidents. He said the Union repeatedly raised concerns about the pillar/mirror complex in that earlier bus’s left front corner. “Now, they’ve purchased new Gillig buses that have even more and bigger obstructions in that area. Not only that, they decided they wanted the bus to look like a train so they’ve given the new buses front extensions. Those extensions create even greater vision obstructions.”
Hansen says he’s been told that the addition of those front extensions is costing the agency $16,000 plus for each bus. Lack of training is also a problem. “We’ve told them time and time again that these vision-obstructed buses should not make left-hand turns and that shorter stature people need special training in how to see around the obstructions. So far, no action from management.” Hansen noted that the two pedestrians killed a few years ago were hit by a bus turning left that was being driven by a short stature operator. He also said that the hybrid version of the new buses packs a high voltage wallop that the mechanics have not been trained to handle.
Hansen reported that regular TriMet operators were not asked to test drive the new buses in every day traffic before management made the purchase. “This seems to be a purchase where the desire for a flashy design is being elevated over commonsense and safety,” he said.

This site is dedicated to pulling back the curtain on all the
ways TriMet spends money and makes decisions impacting safety, service
and public stewardship.
Follow Union contract negotiations, dive into the real issues and post comments to let your voice be heard!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I live along the 15 line, at a red light.
The noise from buses starting from a stop can be quite annoying.
The 3000 series buses are really a great improvement as far as noise is concerned.
And the hybrid buses are even quieter!
Too bad they only got 4 of them but the 3000's aint bad!

LISTEN TO THIS FIRSTTrimet has a very regressive policy on sick time. You are only allowed to take so much time off then you are threatened with termination which forces drivers to attend work impaired!

The temporary workers are from Local 355, a union that is not on strike.
The workers received four hours of training Monday, said Patrick
Cerniglia, the general manager of Staten Island Bus Company, which
managed to cover 59 of its 113 routes Tuesday.

"You need to get over the notion that
light rail is a socialist scheme to undermine family values," Potiowsky
quipped to the more than 400 members of Clark County's business and
political establishment at the event.

Ha ha, ho ho, hee hee - clearly, the boy needs to get out of the
development center and into the real world occasionally. As far as he's
concerned, you have to be a commie-fearing hick to oppose something as
inordinately expensive (and shiny) as light rail.

He says the public has to pay for the rising healthcare costs, but won’t
open the negotiations to the public! Stop jumping the fence Bruce!
Stick to your guns! Or does Neil McFARTBRAIN force you to dance to his
tune?

"You need to get over the notion that light rail is a socialist
scheme to undermine family values," Potiowsky quipped to the more than
400 members of Clark County's business and political establishment at
the event.
Dropping over from Portland to a different political culture on the
north shore, Potiowsky was looking for a reaction. He got only mild
applause. While many in this crowd would agree that light rail is not a
"socialist scheme," there was no enthusiastic embrace of a project that
has come to symbolize much more than a mode of transportation.Strictly business: About that 'socialist' light-rail line | The Columbian

when are u gonna do a post about how Trimet has refused to do a reasonable reroute of lines 54,56,45,etc
while Naito Pkwy is down to one lane. Even whenit's normal traffic these routes lose 10-20 minutes off sched during rush hour.
Talked to a driver today who said it's now like 30-45 minutes. Crazy whe all they have to do is let them use Barbur into 4th then
left on Jefferson.

At the start of this process we felt that none of these problems would occur if the layoverpoint would just be moved back to where it was at the Jubitz truck stop, a perfect location.TriMet has explained that for financial reasons they must shorten the Line 8 route and nolonger layover at the Jubitz truck stop. They said $500,000 would be saved by changingthe route. We see that they reduced duplications in routes and that should result in longtermsavings. At the same time TriMet spent millions on new buses (at $400,000 each onaverage), new buildings, contracting out lift bus repairs and overtime on drivers. In theshort term, their selective frugality at the expense of our neighborhood structure, safety,livability and businesses is not appreciated.

TriMetHi, Anna! Our office move was necessary because of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project,
and we're taking advantage of the opportunity to consolidate work
groups and improve efficiency. Most of the cost of the move is covered
by the PMLR construction project (not from TriMet's operating budget), (the grandest pork feast in Trimet history)
and it's actually going to save us money in the end. Here's what's
happening: Our command center in Gresham is at capacity(these a-holes who are complaining about benefits KEEP ON HIRING, they are creating their own crisis) and cannot
expand to accommodate the new MAX line, and our office at SE 17th &
Holgate was demolished to make room for the MAX tracks. Most of our
admin staff from our office at 17th & Center have relocated to
leased space at the Harrison Square building downtown.( a secure locked down facility far from the 'troops on the ground') Later on, we will
be relocating the command center to 17th & Center, and work groups
from other leased facilities will relocate to either 17th & Center
or Harrison Square. Not only are we consolidating offices, our new
Harrison Square space has smaller workstations and we got rid of nearly
all walled offices.(so f*kn what?) In all, we will be leasing 14,760 fewer square feet
of office space. Over the 10-year life of the Harrison Square building
lease, this will save us $431,551 over our current leased space, and
avoids $2 million in 10-year lease costs had existing furniture been
reused(are they actually saying that they are saving $2 million by NOT using the existing furniture? WTF?) (which would have required more square footage). So, in case you
thought our new office was an upgrade to First Class, it's more like
switching to an even smaller seat in Coach. (right we believe you, you have been so honest with us in the past)In the end, we will be
improving efficiency, streamlining operations, and saving money.(such a culture of management liars)

There were several valid reasons for me leaving the employ of Trimet. Beyond the fact that I was being harassed by management for my involvement in Trimet politics, there was the overall working atmosphere which was steadily declining into a very unhealthy and hostile working environment. That was happening due to Trimet managements intentional use of propaganda which is willingly spread by the anti union corporate media. In this video (which Steve has referred to in the post below this post) they make the claim that benefits are 150% of benefits, an obvious falsehood. All this false information spread by cutthroat immoral Trimet executives, never challenged by anyone other than a few minor bloggers, an ignorant workforce that would most likely continue working without any benefits at all if it came to that, and a mostly impotent union. This will have a very bad ending I am afraid. I am afraid especially for the retirees who are getting dragged down by the impotent union and workforce of sheeple.
I for one will continue fighting these battles, without the support of the employees or the support of the union, which so far has always been the case.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

I consider this one of the most powerful board presentations ever. I remember literally jumping out of my seat after I saw it. I had no idea until then how effective Steve Fung was at public speaking. He literally blew blew the socks off the board. Here Steve calls for the replacement of executives. A frontal assault on executive management! Of course nothing changed but the fact that he made this speech and did it so effectively remains a golden moment in Trimet history.Steve also proceeded to make a complete fool out of Sue Van Broklin. Look how much over the 3 mins this went

Regarding THIS story out of Columbus Ohio where the corporate CEO's ride transit buses.

Notice the bank president said the equipment was clean and on
time.Does Drew Blevins ever get out and actually market TriMet to
Nike,Intel,Xerox,et al to all the large employers in the Tri-County
area? Has the marketing dept contacted 1000 ceo's/community leaders to
encourage bus ridership like the COTA president has in Columbus?

Regarding Harrison Street:You notice how a the 5th and harrison you have to show a badge and be
escorted but the rest of us have to keep the doors open at the trasit
centers. Also interestiing about powell and division since it appears
there is some major projects going on

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Striking subway
workers in Athens returned to the job Friday, hours after the Greek
government used riot police to evacuate holdouts from a train depot,
ending a bitter standoff over new austerity measures.
The nine-day strike , which knocked out a system serving more than a
million people a day , was the biggest labor unrest Greece's uneasy,
conservative-led governing coalition faced since taking over last June.

Michael Anderson, the most independent of transit reporters in PDX, is so far the only 'credentialed' news man to report the story on the wage dispute involving relief pay at Trimet.
While Joe Rose has said he will do a story about 'in the near future' the fact that he didn't write anything about it is significant.
Of course Joe reports to the Oregonian editors who are mostly cozy with the Trimet executives, Michael reports to himself.
The difference between corporate controlled media and independent media

Yesterday morning, our Board of Directors(sock puppets) voted in favor of health(tyrants)—for
our workforce, our visitors and our families – and set on the course to
becoming a smoke-free workplace. (F-U!)The implementation date is July 1, but
the work has already begun—and it won’t end on July 2.

I know
that tobacco addiction is tough to overcome. I also know that most
smokers want to quit. If that describes you—or someone in your
household—I want to personally encourage you. I hope you’ll take
advantage of the kind of help that works for you, whether formal (from
Kaiser, Regence or Cascade Centers) or informal (from coworkers who
care!). We'll make sure these resources are up front and center and easy
to access over the next few months.

A new medical report out
just yesterday shows that the health effects of smoking are worse than
previously thought, but the benefits of quitting are more than
previously thought.

Offering a smoke-free environment is an
important step toward a healthier workplace. Getting there won’t be
easy, but it will be rewarding.

F-U Trimet you bunch of tyrantsAs a result of a resolution approved January 23, 2013, by the TriMet
Board of Directors, all TriMet building and properties will be
smoke-free. The implementation date is July 1. Employees can visit the “smoke-free TriMet”
TriNET page, which includes information about what Kaiser, Regence and
Cascade Centers can offer in terms of medication, nicotine substitution,
health coaching, education and other resources.

A: The lobby and top 3 floors will become a construction zone, closed to
everyone except for construction personnel. Visitors—mostly lost &
found folks—will report to the Transit Utility Vehicle (TUV) van that is
parked in front of the building.

Our new facility presents new opportunities to do our part for
security. Here’s a summary of how TriMet’s existing policies and
practices are expected to work at Harrison Square.

Badge access is based on business need. Your badge is
programmed to give you 24-7 access to your own work area. Whether—and
when—you have access to other locations depends on the nature of your
work. Contact Kathy Daniels with any requests to adjust your badge access: danielsk@trimet.org or 503-962-(employees can not access this Trimet facility. A first for Trimet keeping their own employees out of their own building)

From 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, all Harrison Square TriMet
staff have badge access to the entire 2nd floor, and these portions of
the 3rd floor: East wing; south side of west wing.

Badge access to the west wing of the 3rd floor is limited to staff from HR and Payroll, and a limited number of other authorized employees. Use phone or email to do your business with HR and Payroll, or to arrange an in-person meeting.

Non-employee visitors must be accompanied by an employee, and wear a visitor badge. (HR 428) Employees
from other facilities do not need a visitors badge but must be met and
accompanied by the employee they are here to see.

The TriMet reception desk on the 3rd floor is staffed 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Visitorsneed to report to the reception desk for their visitors badge and an escort to their destination.

If you see a un-badged, un-escorted stranger in the workplace, politely ask, Can I help? What is the nature of your business? Who are you here to see? Who are you?Accompany the person to the reception desk or to the employee they are here to see.

Contact Kathy Daniels to request badge access (24/7) to the bike cage on level P2. Within the cage, you’re encouraged to lock your bike and the gear locker. Space is on a first-come, first-served basis. There are additional racks in several locations outside the building.

I have always been amazed at how many employees at Trimet exist in a constant state of fear. Always worried about 'getting in trouble with Trimet'.
(I personally dislike Ellen Fox, but I will give her credit for having the guts to stand up to Trimet. She is the only other person I know besides myself that does it)
Take the case of Trimet ripping off its employees paying sub par wages for travel time to relief points.
Many drivers supported the suit, but virtually none have signed on.
The reason: " I need this job".
Then there is our beloved union, which has always been very cautious in getting involved with any of my initiatives.
I can tell you this much, if the union doesn't get behind this and the case comes in victorious, that would be solid proof of the incompetence of our union, who by the way, approved sub par wages for its members.
While I support Bruce fully in his efforts in dealing with the tyrant Mcfarlane, I am tired of waiting for this union to act.
I just lost $180 out of my measly $950 pension, plus I have high deductibles to meet with our new insurance plan.
Sorry but from where I sit the union is not helping us much as of today.
All the victories at the labor relations board have meant nothing to me.

New headquarters, new Max line, $10 million dollars surplus, 16k per month pensions for ex general managers, yet ITS THE UNION CONTRACT THAT IS STRANGLING TRIMET!Mutha F*king liars and the cabal of sock puppets that protect them

The top three floors of Center St will be empty by the end of January,
in preparation for creation of our new Operations Headquarters.
Administrative departments--including Payroll, HR and the rest of
Finance, as well as Legal, Public Affairs, etc.--left Center Jan. 11
and moved to Harrison Square, at SW 1st and Harrison. Also on Jan. 11,
Capital Projects left Holladay St and moved to Harrison Square. Other
departments--mostly from Operations and IT--are leaving Center Jan. 25,
mostly to temporary space at Holladay St. Most phone numbers are
staying the same. Department-by-department list:

The
East Portland Bus Stop Project focuses on creating opportunities for
meaningful involvement in transit decision making and increases
awareness of connectivity issues between bus and pedestrian transit. This is a community driven project focusing on areas around: SE 82nd, SE 122nd, Stark, Powell, Foster, Division and Halsey.

Original Here!
Every time we win in court our leaders find something else to take away
from us. They have decided now not to give us our winters coats, badges
and medal clip boards as retaliation for the Inspector win.What
childless action. Every time I see the posting Do The Right Thing from
Neil’s posting’s I think what a dam joke. Here we got low quality coats
that we freeze our asses off and get wet in. All I was told by my
manager Jay Jackson who couldn’t even remember who worked on the
agreement with ATU and Management. You would think at least if you
really wanted to do the right thing you would get the facts straight
before throwing out the wrong names. Here lately you have so many
managers that they are stepping on each others toes. They don’t have a
clue on who do what job. By the way have you seen the latest postings
for more manager positions. That’s correct they don’t want people who
will think out side the box, they want freaking robots. Do as the top
three Jokers tell you or out the door you go. They continue to want us
to do more with less pay and less tools. The poor folks that are forced
to Harrison St. and have to pay for parking that don’t get six figure $
checks are forced to pay over 100.00 plus a month. The poor line #8
operator who don’t have a restroom at the end of the line. Being that we
are a transportation company we don’t have enough cars for our own
supervisor/inspectors. Yes Neil, Randy and Barry, what a threesome?

I spoke twice yesterday, once to object to the nonchalant methods that this 'board' uses to routinely approve more money for contracts that have already been bid. There is never any questioning done on this never ending stream of money that is flowing like a river out of Trimet.

The other testimony was to extract an answer out of Mcfarlane or Warner on why Trimet is so intent on keeping the contractual negotiations secret. Of course I expected no actual answers, and I didn't get any. Mcfarlanes lap dogs (the board) put a circle around him to protect him, which was fully expected. I followed all the decorum of the public meetings, didn't do anything outrageous. I was very pleased with the testimonies yesterday. Of course they ignored them, but I thought we did great:

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

And the gushing, flowing, sickening praise for his highness Steve Clark then you are welcome too.
You also get to watch the person that took over for Beth Dehammel, so boring he could put a crack addict to sleep.